causes of the revolutionary war

stamp act

Mar 22, 1765

the stamp act required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards, dice, and newspapers. The reaction in the colonies was immediate.

boston massacre

Mar 5, 1770

The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which nine British soldiers shot several of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles.

boston tea party

Dec 16, 1773

It required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards, dice, and newspapers. The reaction in the colonies was immediate.

the intolerable act

May 20, 1774

a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party.

the common sense pamphlet

Jan 10, 1776

47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.